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//valme.io/rss/all/tag/substance abuse/en-usSun, 15 Sep 2019 04:39:44 -0500https://valme.io/c/relationships/dating/braincrave/lfqqs/on-the-other-hand
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, over 50% of Americans age 12 or older have used alcohol in the past 30 days, almost 25% are binge drinkers (5 drinks within 2 hours), and 7% drink heavily. Alcoholism negatively impacts the lives of many, and not just those who are the alcoholics.

As you had failed to solve the problem yourself, AA says you "absolutely must turn your will and your life over to the care of a higher power called God." Turning yourself over to God also helps to remove the isolation that many addicts feel. If you're secular, you can choose the higher power to be whomever or whatever you want it to be, but what you may not do is choose your higher power as yourself. The program is successful for some, but not many.

The definition of a disease is "any deviation from or interruption of the normal structure or function of any body part, organ, or system that is manifested by a characteristic set of symptoms and signs and whose etiology, pathology, and prognosis may be known or unknown." Although there is one gene that appears associated with increased risk of alcoholism, there isn't any conclusive evidence that alcoholism results from heredity or genetic problems. As a result, some claim that addiction is only a psychological problem and one that is solely based on voluntary choice. As proof, they offer that some even go "cold turkey" (i.e., choose to give up your addiction and then do so immediately).

Is addiction a choice or a disease? Have you ever had any addictions and, if so, how did you overcome them? Is the twelve-step program the best way to stop an unhealthy addiction? Why do programs like AA work for some but not others? Is AA a faith-based organization and, if so, does it matter? Does the program undermine your self-confidence and self-esteem by requiring you to put your faith in a higher power? Should we blame alcoholism on a disease or a lack of responsibility? Is requiring people to attend AA compulsory religion?

]]>Sun, 24 Sep 2017 14:38:29 -0500https://valme.io/c/relationships/dating/braincrave/lfqqs/on-the-other-handbraincravehttps://valme.io/c/health/9dqqs/the-truth-we-wont-admit-drinking-is-healthy
The US public health establishment buries overwhelming evidence that abstinence is a cause of heart disease and early death. People deserve to know that alcohol gives most of us a higher life expectancy - even if consumed above recommended limits.

Selected quotes from the article:

The Research Society on Alcoholism - as its name suggests, not a group predisposed to say good things about alcohol - published a review in 2008 concluding “A considerable body of epidemiology associates moderate alcohol consumption with significantly reduced risks of coronary heart disease and, albeit currently a less robust relationship, cerebrovascular (ischemic) stroke.” It went further, reviewing a range of biological “evidence that moderate alcohol levels can exert direct neuroprotective actions.”

The RSA review also noted: “In over half of nearly 45 reports since the early 1990s, significantly reduced risks of cognitive loss or dementia in moderate, nonbinge consumers of alcohol (wine, beer, liquor) have been observed.”

“The overall death rates were lowest among men and women reporting about one drink daily. Mortality from all causes increased with heavier drinking, particularly among adults under age 60 with lower risk of cardiovascular disease.”

If you still ask why I, an addiction/public health specialist, feel it necessary to point out alcohol’s benefits, recall some facts reviewed here:

* Well-informed Americans are often remarkably ignorant about the benefits of moderate drinking and think that abstinence is better for them.

* The US is not a heavy-drinking nation, yet its health outcomes are poor compared with other economically-advanced nations.

* The worst drinking pattern is frequent binge-drinking, yet many Americans engage in such drinking (certainly young Americans), while thinking daily-but-moderate drinking is a sign of addiction.

* In treatment and prevention, the American abstinence/just-say-no fixation can lead to tenuous, unrealistic efforts to abstain, efforts at which people frequently fail, only to engage in the highest-risk forms of binge consumption.